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She nodded. Yes, they were. For a long time already. “That doesn’t mean it will happen to everyone. What about your brother and Sarah?”
Rick smiled sadly. “I hope they’re the exception. They’re still young, after all.”
She couldn’t deny the validity of his arguments, but the generalization was something to work on. True, she backed out of a marriage, but that was because she knew she wasn’t marrying ‘the one’. Once she found the one, there had to be a better course for them than what Rick was alluding to.
Oh, dear. She had no idea he was this cynical.
Five
After a day and a half,it was time to go home. It might still be too early, but Charlie couldn’t trouble Rick anymore. She’d forgotten to get his number to thank him later, but would eventually get to it. She’d left her purse, wallet, and phone back at the resort, and who knows where it went.
Thankfully, she had a backup phone not even her mother knew about. Her first task back was to cancel her credit cards, then deal with the aftermath of her wedding.
Damage control. That was what she needed to deal with.
The first person she’d have to talk to was Matt. She couldn’t predict how he was feeling. Her mother, she knew. Matt’s parents—angry. But he was a wildcard. The guy was too calm. Nothing rattled him.
Being left at the altar had to trigger some kind of emotion. Shame, embarrassment, a shot at the ego. All of his friends were there. What could she offer as consolation that would suffice? Not money; Matt and his family were wealthier.
As she ran through ideas, the doorbell rang.
Charlie froze.
It couldn’t have been an hour since Rick dropped heroff.
Cautiously, she walked to the front door and peeked through the peephole. Relief swayed when she didn’t see the familiar disapproving face, but one that was almost as bothersome.
Jerking the door open, she grimaced at her younger brother. “What do you want?”
Ryan Joshua Ha, the baby of the family. Her mother’s crown jewel. He was a surprise pregnancy when her parents were having trouble conceiving, hoping to shoot for a boy. Though only five years younger, Ryan never matured. He could never seem to act his age.
Charlie was resentful of him, but he was the only one who respected her. Although hardly an ideal sibling relationship, they had each other.
“Whoa, easy there,” he said and walked inside. “Why are you dressed like a metrosexual hip-hop wannabe?”
Charlie looked at her outfit, forgetting that she still had Rick’s teenager clothes. Red basketball shorts and an oversized jersey tee. Blushing, she rebuffed him. “None of your business. What do you want?”
“Just checking on you.” He grinned before settling himself on her couch. “I can’t believe you ran away like that. You know Mom’s going to kill you, right?”
“Please don’t start. I can’t deal with her right now. Can you distract her for me?” she asked pleadingly. “She’s the last person I want to talk to.”
He paused to consider. “It’ll cost you. This is your biggest fuckup, and she isn’t just going to let it slide that easily.” He may be immature, but he wasn’t dense. “It will take a lot of work distracting her.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What do you want?”
“Let me borrow your car for a month.”
Charlie scoffed. “Never! You’re going to wreck it like you wrecked yours!”
“Hey, that wasn’t my fault,andinsurance said so.”
She crossed her arms. “What’s going on? What happened to your new car?”
Ryan went through at least two cars per year. If he didn’t trash them, then he got sick of them.
“Nothing. Just lend me yours and I’ll keep Mom out of your hair for a week.”
Oh, gosh. The offer wasverytempting.
